Sunday, April 21, 2019

Meeting Madelyn, Special Delivery and Heading to Tennessee

"Once Upon A Time II," oil on linen, 30"h x 24"w, ©2019 Jill Banks
One day after our second granddaughter's arrival, I started painting "Once Upon a Time II" - destined from the beginning to brighten her nursery room.  In it are all sorts of treasures. Lilies to mark her near Easter arrival. An elephant covered with color yarn that's been waiting to get included in a painting.  An iron bench that has provided a perch for my Mom's doll collection. A pink flamingo to star in the show.  Well-read kid's books. A teacup for plenty of tea parties ahead. The set-up moved several times from the classroom (where it began as the first day of class demo), to my home studio and back to the Artists' Atelier.  Then this past Friday, the painting was hung in little Madelyn's room in between getting to know her a bit.  At almost two weeks old, she's not full of action ... but sure is beautiful and a joy to hold.

In all of my paintings, I hope that you continue to see something new and interesting that hadn't caught your eye before.  While painting, the piece slowly reveals itself - little by little. The whole is what made me paint it. There's something that garners the majority of attention.  Then, there's something else special that I hadn't been ready to see ... and that goes in. In developing "Once Upon a Time II" for Madelyn, I thought about how all those discoveries will come over time. How someday she'll recognize one of those book covers, take an interest in flamingos or elephants or mice.

Knoxville, Here I Come

Tomorrow is the orientation for Artists on Location: Knoxville Plein Air  -- where 30 painters have been selected to paint the "town" for a week, culminating in an awards reception and sale at the Knoxville Museum of Art on Saturday, April 27.  During the ride there, I was researching the suggested painting locations -- finally realizing that is a poor substitute for just getting there and looking around for myself. There are nooks and crannies to explore ... and I'm SO looking forward to doing just that. If I can, I'll post during the week. (Usually these events are fun but exhausting.)

See my Events Page for more info about Artists on Location and a whole lot of other art happenings right around the corner.

Visit "The Gathering Place" Solo Exhibit Before it Comes Down on April 30

Randy and I have hung out more than usual at the Old Brogue Irish Pub in Great Falls VA this month -- enjoying my exhibit in the Snuggery Dining Room/Katie's Coffee. I hope you have had a chance to do the same ... and if not, can  plan a visit in the next week and a half.

"Dinner Rush," oil, 24"h x 36"w, ©2019 Jill Banks -- currently on exhibit at the Old Brogue

Get more info and view the exhibit online here.

For those of you who celebrate it, I hope you had a wonderful Easter! We enjoyed the non-traveling part of the day with some of the people we love which was wonderful.  This is a time of new beginnings, fresh growth, hope.

Thanks for reading,
Jill
Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/JillBanksStudio/ (Please like that page if you like it...)

Read the Article: Southwest Art Artist to Watch,  July 2017 Here's a link to the PDF of the wonderful Artist to Watch article written by Kim Agricola.  
Read the Article: "Christmas Card Paintings: 46 Years and Counting"Here's a link to the article in Fine Art Today, published by Fine Art Connoisseur December 2018.  
Read the Article: "A Paris Plein Air Adventure" published by Outdoor Painter (from Plein Air Magazine)

Events

April 22-27 - Artists on Location: a Plein Air Painting Event - Juried artist, plein air competition and sale, Knoxville TN
April 1-30 - "The Gathering Spot" Solo Exhibit, Katie's Coffee/The Snuggery in the Old Brogue Irish Pub, Great Falls VA
May 3 - First Friday Art Walk, the Artists' Atelier, 756 Walker Road, Great Falls VA - 6-8pm (Art Walks run from April to December)
May 4 & 5 - Great Falls Spring ArtFest at the Artists' Atelier in Great Falls. 10am to 5pm each day.
May 11 - Reception, Solo Exhibit, Great Falls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls VA - details to come
May 17-19 - Northern Virginia Fine Art Festival, Reston VA
June 1 - August 31 - American Impressionist Society (AIS) Small Works Showcase, Petoskey MI - "Cat House" chosen by AIS jurors as one of approximately 200 small works by some of the nation's finest impressionist artists.
June 7-9 - Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show, Philadelphia PA
June 28 - American Women Artists Museum Exhibition Reception - Steamboat Art Museum, Steamboat Springs CO (exhibit runs from May 24-September 2 - "On Top of the World" selected for this prestigious show)
June 29 - July 6 - Telluride Plein Air - Telluride CO
July 13 & 14 - Wickford Fine Art Festival, Wickford RI
 




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